New Orleans Board of Trade Wedding: Kelsey + James

November 16, 2016

Color Palette:Champagne Gold & Blushes

What adjectives best describe your wedding?Intimate, Romantic and Classic

Tell us about your wedding venue(s) and why you chose to get married there.We were married at Immaculate Conception Church, which is a Jesuit church. I think the church is so romantic, fresh, and inviting. I love the brightness of the decor, the various flags hanging as respect to our different heritages. James is extremely proud of attending Jesuit High School, so that also made the church all the more special to us.

The Board of Trade was our reception venue. We went to see the site while they were setting up for another wedding one evening and it just felt so right! We loved the entrance, the courtyard, and the room itself. It felt like it was the perfect fit for my vision of our wedding.

What was your favorite wedding purchase?My favorite wedding purchase would have to be a tie between my wedding dress, veil, and shoes. I had a very clear vision of the dress that I wanted to wear and decided that long sleeves with an interesting back were a must for me. Maybe not so surprisingly, it was a challenge to find long sleeved dresses in New Orleans. When I tried on my dress at Wedding Belles, it had everything I wanted and envisioned. After adding the veil and my shoes, I felt like a true bride!

What was your best wedding day memory?If I had to choose one favorite wedding memory, I would have to say it would be James and I exchanging our vows. I was so nervous throughout the entire day and do not like speaking in front of people! However, when it came time for us to say our vows to one another, I had a complete wave of calm come over me. It was such a personal moment we were able to share with so many important people in our lives. That moment felt like a dream come true!

How did you incorporate your personalities into the wedding?I created the signage we used throughout the wedding with the help of my amazing sister, Lauren! My grandfather passed away several years ago and he always had a handkerchief handy, like a true gentleman. After he had died, I inherited one of his handkerchiefs, so I had his initials monogrammed onto it so I could have it for the wedding to feel like he was still there. James also was able to wear his grandfather’s cuff links for the wedding, which was very special to us. We both wanted to incorporate things that have meaning to us and our family into our wedding. I enjoyed adding all the little details to our wedding because I think that is what ends up making things more personal and a complete representation of us!

We were able to incorporate our personalities into the wedding with James’ grooms cake, our guestbook globe, and my processional song (to name a few). I loved James’ grooms cake because our beloved dogs were on it! I decided to use a guestbook globe since we love to travel and plan on seeing the world together. My processional song was important to both of us, we have attended many weddings over the years and I wanted something that was different and true to us! Surprisingly, many of our friends and family were confused about the whole concept of a “first look”. We wanted to be able to enjoy our reception and visit with our guests, so I’m very happy we did not let other people’s opinions change our minds about the first look because it is another great memory we will share forever!!